A three-year program is proposed to further define the antigenic determinants of varicella virus and its protein/glycoprotein components. The proposal begins with studies on propagation and purification of varicella virus and then includes a major section on characterization by acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The goal is to compare the antigenicities of purified whole virion, varicella dense bodies and varicella glycoproteins/ proteins. Although the development of a vaccine is not a goal of this proposal, the information gathered will bear directly on the evaluation of a vaccine virus. During the first year of the grant we have studied the propagation of varicella virus in a human melanoma cell line, developed a plaque assay utilizing the same cell substrate, and investigated methods of concentration and purification of virus. Future experiments will include analysis of radiolabelled virus by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.